Sunday, June 8th

The Sami (Lapp) people are an indigenous population who form an ethnic minority in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Evidence of possible Sami settlement in Finnmark, the northernmost province of Norway, dates back to the Komsa culture (7000-2500 BC). Traditionally, the Sami way of life has been based on self-sufficient extended-family communities called siida whose economic base is provided in salmon fishing, whaling, the trapping of beaver and the hunting and herding of reindeer. The Sami’s cultural tradition has been enlivened in recent years through the movement of indigenous people all over the globe. In particular, collective interaction between the Sami and indigenous peoples of North America have allowed for a rich exchange of their similar and diverse traditions. This symposium will examine Sami history and traditions, giving some comparison to North American Indians and an outlook for indigenous cultural identity in the 21st century.

Lecture More Than a Hundred Words for Snow: Sami Language and Tradition

Harald Gaski, Professor of Sami Language and Literature (University of Tromsø, Norway) and author of numerous books on Sami issues including Sami Culture in a New Era: the Norwegian Sami Experience. The Sami people of Northern Scandinavia and the Kola peninsula in Russia represent an ancient Arctic culture which is struggling for existence while adjusting to a modern way of life. In Gaski’s presentation we will get a brief overview of Sami history and get better acquainted with the traditional worldview of the Sami. We will also learn about how new media is innovatively incorporating an expression of Sami identity today.

Lecture Indigenous Peoples on Two Continents: Considerations on Reclaiming and Renewing Sami and Native American Societies
Rauna Kuokkanen, Professor of Comparative Literature (University of British Columbia), founding member of Finnish Sami Youth Organization and specialist in comparative Sami and North American Indian literature. Indigenous peoples worldwide share many similarities in terms of their histories and cultures as well as contemporary developments such as the struggle for self-determination. Kuokkanen’s presentation offers a comparative perspective on some of the central trends in these processes taking place in Samiland and in North America.

Lecture Sami Arts: A Source of Spiritual Survival and Cultural Identity
In addition to their beauty and use in traditional Sami life and celebration, Sami arts are a key to maintaining Sami identity. Internationally known Sami artist Rose-Marie Huuva will share the many forms of Sami art, showing slide images from the Ajtte Swedish Mountain and Sami Museum in Jokkmokk, Sweden.

Panel Discussion What Does It Mean to Be “Indigenous” in the 21st Century?
Moderated by Faith Fjeld.

Performance The Sami Joik: A Way of Understanding Nature
Ande Somby, popular Sami traditional and contemporary joiker (joik singer), lawyer and political activist, will demonstrate the oldest musical expression still alive in Europe. Dr. Somby will also perform with popular San Francisco-based pianist Larry Vukovich, demonstrating joik in its modern jazz interpretations.

On-site Exhibit
Traditional Sami crafts from the Nathan Muus – Saami Báiki Foundation collection will be on display in the Cowell Theater lobby throughout the day of the program.

Presenters

Faith Field, American Indian Studies, San Francisco State University
Harald Gaski, Sami Literature, U of Tromso, Norway
Rose-Marie Huuva, artist, poet, designer
Rauna Kuokkanen, Sami native of Finland, U of British Colombua
Ande Somby, Law, U of Tromso, Norway
Larry Vuckovich Trio, music

CONSTANTINE’S VISION

Friday, April 11

Lecture Constantine the Great, Founder of the Christian Roman Empire
In 330 AD, the Emperor Constantine made Byzantium his capital and renamed it Constantinople. He considered his domain, which we now call the Byzantine Empire, as the true inheritor of the Roman mantle. In time, his empire became both an ally and rival of western Europe. Kenneth Harl (Tulane University) will explain the motives behind Constantine’s conversion to Christianity, his vision of an imperial church, and his development of Byzantine civil institutions and of Constantinople as the capital of Christianity.

Performance Byzantine Chant St. Gregory of Nyssa’s Choir, led by Sanford Dole

THE AGE OF JUSTINIAN: TRIUMPH AND TRANSFORMATION

Saturday, April 12

Lecture The Emperor Who Never Slept: Justinian I and the Challenges and Contradictions of his Reign
Justinian I ( r. 527-565) attempted to restore the Roman empire to its earlier glory. His many accomplishments included the reconquest of North Africa, Italy, and parts of Spain; preparation of the Corpus Iuris Civilis — perhaps Byzantium’s greatest legacy to the west; the construction of stunning architectural monuments; and his enlargement of the imperial role in determining church doctrine. All of these successes came at a cost. Michael Maas (Rice University) will examine the impulses that drove Justinian as well as the economic and social forces that limited his triumphs, showing why his reign marked a watershed in the development of European civilization.

Lecture Literature and Patronage in the Age of Justinian
The sixth century left a rich legacy not only in the great art and architecture it produced but also in its works of literature. Claudia Rapp (UCLA) will consider the most important authors of Justinian’s time, beginning with the enigmatic Procopius, whose Secret History was both an official history of the Emperor’s wars and a diatribe against the imperial court. These authors operated in a unique social context, which helps to explain the proliferation of literature during this era. Patronage tied authors to aristocratic benefactors and to the imperial court, while ties of friendship and collegiality strengthened the bonds among the literati themselves.

Performance The Works of Procopius and Boethius
A reading by Peter Donat.

Lecture Hagia Sophia in Constantinople: Architecture of Power and Transcendence
Byzantium’s greatest monument, the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, is most often discussed in terms of its unique structure, which encloses the largest vaulted space of antiquity. Built by Justinian in 532-537, Hagia Sophia served both as a symbol of earthly power and a spiritual link to heaven. These two functions combined whenever the building served as a ceremonial space, housing the rituals which guaranteed order in the well-governed Christian cosmos. Robert Ousterhout (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) will explore the unique artistic and engineering achievement that is Hagia Sophia, as well as its religious and civic use.

Lecture Art on the Imperial Borders from Ravenna to Sinai
Justinian’s ambitions are reflected in the monuments he built on the borders of the empire. Helen Evans (Metropolitan Museum of Art) will showcase the superb mosaic decorations that survive from the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, his western capital. She will then lead us through the church of the Holy Monastery of St. Catherine at Sinai in Egypt, a fortified monastery at the eastern edge of the Empire’s territories that demonstrated to the populace the power of the empire and the faith that protected it.

Panel Discussion
All lecturers join in a moderated discussion.

Presenters

John Michael Boyer, music, cantor, Annunciation Cathedral
Sanford Dole, music director, Sanford Dole Ensemble
Peter Donat, actor
Helen Evans, Curator, Medieval Art, Metropolitan Museum Art
Kenneth Harl, History, Tulane University
Michael Maas, History, Rice University
Kathleen Maxwell, Art History, Santa Clara University
Robert Ousterhout, Architectural History, U Illinois Urbana
Claudia Rapp, Late Antiquity, UCLA